Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice - A Recommended Chicken Rice Restaurant in Singapore!

This is my favorite Chicken Rice Restaurant in Singapore! I used to come here very often when they were still at Novena Ville. But today was my first time trying the new one at United Square. It's located at the first floor of United Square and it's outside the mall so you have to walked out from the mall. They also have other branches at Marina Square, Makansutra (Gluttons Bay) and Katong.

The queue is quite long although I went there quite late (around 2.30pm). But it was pretty fast, I was just queuing for around 10 mins. As usual, I ordered the famous Roasted Chicken Rice here. I wanted to add the egg but today it was sold out. And I ordered lemon tea for drink. They served the food around 10 mins after you ordered. Quite fast for such a packed restaurant! I really love the rice here as it is so fragrant! And the chicken is so thick yet juicy! And it comes with the sauce! It is so nice!!! If you eat here, don't forget to mix the sauce with black sauce and garlic sauce! This combination of sauce just compliment the rice and chicken very well. The lemon tea is a bit too sweet but I like it!

 

1 portion of Chicken Rice (Rice + Chicken) costs you 4.80 SGD and 1 cup of lemon tea costs you 1.60 SGD. They also charge you for the towel (0.20 SGD each) but you can return to them if you don't use it. I really recommend this place if you are coming to Singapore! :)

Details :

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice

United Square

101 Thomson Road #01-08

Singapore 307591

Phone : +65 6255 6396

Marina Square

6 Raffles Boulevard #04-102b

Singapore 039594

Phone : +65 6333 9830

112 Katong

112 East Coast Road #04-01

Singapore 428802

Phone : +65 6636 3034

Makansutra Glottons Bay (Chicken Rice Stalls only)

8 Raffles Avenue #01-15 Stall E

The Esplanade

Singapore 039802

Lucky Seafood - A Nice and Cheap Seafood Restaurant in Batam

We went for a 2D/1N trip to Batam last weekend. And when you are visiting Batam, you should try their famous seafood. A friend of mine whose parents live there recommended this place. They have live seafood here.

As we were so hungry after walking around Nagoya Hill Mall, we ordered quite a few dishes. We ordered 2 portion of Grilled Fish (1 White Pomfret or Bawal Putih and 1 Rabbitfish or Baronang), 1 portion of Chili Crab, 1 portion of Calamari, 1 portion of Balacan Kangkung, 3 portion of Steam Rice, and juices and tea for drink. The fish are so fresh and they grilled it with the spicy sauce (don't worry it was not that spicy!). It's so nice when you eat with the sweet sauce (kecap manis). And the Chili Crab is sooo yummmyyyy!!! The Balacan Kangkung is a spicy!!! So if you don't like spicy, don't order this!

It costs us around Rp 434,000,- for 3 people. My friend told me that it would cost us more if we eat at Golden Prawn and the taste is much more better here. We really enjoyed the dinner! Thank you for bringing us here!

Details :

Lucky Seafood

Komplek Perumahan Citra Indah Blok A4 No 01

Batam Center (Next to Bank Bukopin, near to Arsikon Batam Centre)

* See Google Maps here or message me if you want to know how to get there! *

Khmer Kitchen Restaurant @ Siam Reap

We went to this restaurant as per recommended Dary Mol, the souvenir seller at Old Market. It's just across the street from Old Market and near to Pub Street. We ordered 3 dishes as per recommended by the waiter : Morning Glory with Pork, Khmer Curry, and Grilled Breast Chicken. The food were super nice! We like all of them. The chicken is so tender, Morning Glory is so tasty and Khmer Curry is nice! The portion are big too. We almost can not finished all of them. Also They serve you rice for free. And we ordered lemon tea and lemon grass for drink. Total bill was USD 12. It was ok price provided the portion are big and food are nice. The atmosphere is good too. Do try this restaurant if you plan to go to Siam Reap!

Details :

Khmer Kitchen Restaurant 
Mondul I, Sangkat Svay Dangkum, Siem Reap, Cambodia
+855 12 763 468

My First Trip to Cambodia

I went to Cambodia on August 2013. I spent 5 days and 4 night there which covered most of the "must go" places in both Phnom Pehn and Siam Reap. Although it was a short trip, we really enjoyed our time there! Hope to be back again soon!

"Must go" Places :

1. The Killing Field (Choeung Ek) in Phnom Penh

After checked in, we decided to go to The Killing Field (Choeung Ek). We took a Tuk-Tuk which cost us USD 15 for 2 way transport. The road is actually very dusty but the super nice Tuk-Tuk driver bought us mask to cover our nose and mouth. It took us about 30 minutes to reach the mass graves of victims of the Khmer Rouge. The entrance fee is USD 6 which includes the audio tour with many language options. As you walk around, the audio tour will guide you through the places and explain what happened in that place. I would recommend you to read a bit about Cambodia History before visiting this place. It was indeed a very sad story to hear and I pray for all the victims may their soul rest in peace. 

2. Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

Royal Palace is a 174,870 square metres complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the king of Cambodia. The entrance fee for Royal Palace is USD 6.50 per person and you have to wear proper attire to go in (sleeveless shirt and short pants are not allowed). The layout are divided into few sections here : Throne Hall, Moonlight Pavilion, Silver Pagoda, and Khemarin Palace. We only can visit the first 3 sections and Khemarin Palace, Royal Gardens, and some other buildings and pavilions are closed to public.

3. National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh

National Museum is just 5 minutes walk from Royal Palace. This is the largest museum in Cambodia. They have lots of collection of Khmer Art which includes ceramics, sculptures, bronzes, etc. They have more than 14,000 items here. The entrance fee for National Museum is USD 5 per person.

4. Angkor Archaeological Park

Third day, we went to Angkor Archaeological Park by Tuk-Tuk (our hotel gave us free Tuk-Tuk during our stay). We actually wanted to go there early to catch the sunrise but as it was a rainy season the hotel receptionist told us that there will be a very little chance to see the sunrise. So we decided to continue our sleep and start our journey to Angkor Archaeological Park at 9am. Once you reached Angkor Archaeological Park, you will need to buy the entrance ticket. They have the option of 1 day pass (USD 20), 3 days pass (USD 40), and 7 days pass (USD 60). Once you got your ticket, you can start you exploration of 400 square kilometres Angkor Archaeological Park. It's HUGE!!! That's why they have the 7 days pass as you can not finished the whole park in a day! But if you only have limited time like us, you can just go to the most famous one like the Temple of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (which consist of Bayon, Baphuon temples, The Elephant Terrace, Phnom Bakheng, and many more), and Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raider were filmed here). We spent almost half day to explore these temples. Each temple have their own stories and uniqueness so it's good if you read some of their history before the visit. They also have restaurant inside the park so you dont need to go out from the park to find food.

4. Shopping Experience

We only had a very limited time in Cambodia so I didn't have much time so shop. But I was very happy with my shopping experience in Cambodia. It was cheap (although is not that cheap) and the seller are very friendly! They can speak multiple language too!! We only went to 3 places to shop : Psar Chaa - Old Market in Siam Reap, Night Market in Siam Reap and Russian Market in Phnom Penh.

5. Local Delights

During our stay in Cambodia, we went to try some of recommended restaurant like Friends The Restaurant in Phnom Penh, Khmer Kitchen Restaurant in Siam Reap, and KFC. :)

6. Khmer Massage

After tired walking, we went back to hotel for a quick shower and went out for massage. Our Tuk-Tuk driver recommended us a very nice Khmer Massage Place named Lemongrass Garden Beauty and Massage. It cost us USD 15 for 90 minutes Khmer Massage... a bit more expensive than Thai Massage or Oil Massage but it's very very good!!! It's actually a dry massage (without oil) similar to Thai Massage just that without twisting and pulling so it's more relaxing... We really enjoyed it!!

 

How to Get Around

1. From and To Phnom Penh Airport

Phnom Penh is the Capital City of Cambodia and as there are more flights flying from Singapore to Phnom Penh than Siam Reap, we decided to fly to Phnom Penh. We flew in in the morning and after reading some of the travel forum, we decided to take cab from Airport to Hotel. They have flat rate USD 9 from Airport to anywhere in Phnom Penh and actually USD 9 is considered fair price as we took a taxi with meter from Hotel to Airport on the last day and it cost us USD 9 also. Once you passed immigration and collected your luggage, you can just get the taxi coupon before getting into the taxi. Another option, you can take Tuk-Tuk to Hotel with USD 7 flat rate to anywhere in Phnom Penh. It took us about 20 minutes to reach Intercontinental Hotel by taxi.

2. Phnom Penh - Siam Reap

On second day, we took a bus to Siam Reap. Bus is the cheapest way to travel between Phnom Penh and Siam Reap. There are several bus companies which serve this route and the price are vary from USD 8 to 13 but we decided to take Giant Ibis bus. We booked the bus online from their website and you can choose your seat online too (Price per person : USD 13 + service charge of USD 1 if you book online). It took around 6 hours to Siam Reap includes 1 time toilet break + 1 time lunch). This is more worth it compare to taking a flight as the air ticket is close to USD 100 for one way trip.

3. In Phnom Penh

Tuk-Tuk in Phnom Penh can cost you USD 1 - USD 5 within the city depends on how far you go. Or USD 4 per hour or USD 20 per day.

4. In Siam Reap

Similar with Phnom Penh, Tuk-Tuk in Siam Reap can cost you USD 1 - USD 5 within the city depends on how far you go. Or USD 15 per day (additional USD 5 if you want to go to see sunrise at Angkor Wat).

Friends The Restaurant @ Phnom Penh - A Training Restaurant for Former Street Youth

Friends the Restaurant is a training restaurant run by former street youth and their teachers. Established by Mith Samlanh, a local organization working with Cambodian street children, Friends the Restaurant trains the former street youth to cook or to serve the customer (become a waiter/waitress). Once they finished the training, they can be the teacher at Friends the Restaurant or they can find a job outside.

As this restaurant is quite a popular place, it's recommended to make a reservation before your visit. We didn't make any reservation before so we have to wait for about 15 minutes before we got a table. They have few tables indoor and outdoor.

We ordered a burger from special menu (Homemade Beef Burger), 2 Tapas (Honey Garlic Pork and Beef Meatballs on Pandan Noodles & Chrispy Shrimp Wantons with Sweet Chili and Lime Dip), and 1 Lime Juice. They give you water for free in case you don't want to order drink. We actually ordered a dessert but as we were too full we decided to cancel the dessert. :( Our total bill was less than 30 USD. It's very worth it because the food is super nice, the portion is big, and the staff are friendly. Some students are not very good in speaking in English yet but the teachers' English are very good. Although they are still learning but they always try their best to serve you with smile! We will definitely come back!

Details :
Friends The Restaurant
#215 Street 13 Phnom Penh
For bookings: +855 (0) 12 802 072
friendstherestaurant@mithsamlanh.org
Open 7 days a week from 11am to 9pm.